ive recently moved to canada and i am looking to start up in mma. I have been interested in doing this for quiet some time but couldnt really find any decent clubs back in my area in england.

I trained in shotokan karate for 6 years when i was younger and recieved my first dan black belt. I was mainly a competition fighter, winning yorkshire championships twice and also british. I have also dabbled in goju ryu karate, judo and jo jitsu. I also did 8 months boxing with one fight.

Im looking to find a gym around edmonton where i can train and compete.

I am currently competing out of Dynamic MMA in Calgary AB, and I thought you could use a few tips as to choosing the right MMA gym.

First off, you do NOT want to find a gym that is strictly MMA. At Dynamic, we train through all the different aspects of the sport - and then throw them all together. This allows you to improve your stand up and ground game, creating you into a more talented versatile fighter.

Next, you want to find a gym that has a proper facility. At my gym, we have this awesome full size octagon and tons of matted area and lots of bags. It's really cool! I've been to lots of MMA gyms, and I find that the facility needs to be like this to actually be physically ready for a fight if you are thinking of competing, or even just for training recreationally.

My last thing is coaches. If you've got three young guys? No head coach? Nothing? Well then you should probably try and look else where! Try to find a place with ONE head coach and lots of assistants. This will ensure you have the proper education in the sport, along with tons of help if you have any questions.